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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28986903">3:42 AM</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/neonbutchery/pseuds/neonbutchery'>neonbutchery</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Aria needs a hug, Character Study, F/F, Gen, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Loss, No beta we die like Mordin, Omega DLC spoilers, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, post-omega dlc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:35:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>668</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28986903</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/neonbutchery/pseuds/neonbutchery</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Cerberus invasion, Aria can't get Nyreen—nor the nightmares about her—out of her head.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nyreen Kandros/Aria T'Loak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>3:42 AM</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Wrote this after finishing the Omega DLC because my brain is an angst machine. In case you haven't peeped the tags, be warned that this fic contains an unhappy ending and lots of angsty feelings, as well as Aria struggling with loss/anxiety/night terrors because she doesn't allow herself to grieve. If this isn't your thing, please take care and click off! Also, spoilers for the DLC itself (including its ending).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s pathetic. </p><p> </p><p>Aria T’Loak, ruler of Omega, who has millions under her first, who faced Cerberus troops head-on with a pair of balls, is now being tormented by her own consciousness. Really? You’ve been up against mercenaries, gangs, bounty hunters, terrorist organizations, and every kind of scum the Terminus systems have to offer—and it’s a nightmare that really pushes you to the edge, causes you to wake up screaming in the middle of the night and be thankful you were left alone in your quarters?</p><p> </p><p>Well, nightmares, to be more specific. But it doesn’t matter, because they’re all about the same person: Nyreen Kandros. Sometimes, she’s just there, standing, as if eerily reminding you of her presence. Other times, you remember scenes from your lives together: drinks at the Afterlife and drunk dances, tales of turian cabals, chatter with that one elcor bouncer who’s always tormented by annoying clients. I suppose the break-up didn’t go as well as you thought, did it? No matter how much you want to leave Nyreen behind, you can’t. She’s a part of you. No point in denying it.</p><p> </p><p>But by far, the worst nightmares are the ones about the invasion. You’re used to seeing violence, bodies and blood splatters on the floor. What happened there should be only a bitter memory. It isn’t, though. Ha. Her death keeps repeating on and on, like a vid glitching because of the bad connection, and you can’t escape it. It’s a dream, a damn dream, yet it feels so real and vivid you almost can feel the electricity that the biotic field left behind. Or hear. Hear those twisted monsters—that are nightmare fuel by themselves—approaching Nyreen, and then the distinctive click of a bomb being activated, and then—</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Boom. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Your ears ring. But you aren’t at the entrance of a Cerberus-dominated Afterlife; you’re in your room, sitting in your bed and grasping onto your pillow like your life depends on it. It takes you a few minutes to get back to reality, and when you do, the truth slaps you in your cold, hard face. She’s gone. Nyreen Kandros, your friend, partner, girlfriend, ally, acquaintance, is dead. There’s no going back. No time machine or way to contact the deceased. She’s a ghost now whose sole purpose is to haunt your dreams as a grim reminder. </p><p> </p><p>Yeah. In a twisted way, it’s karma. You were too quick to tease Nyreen for being scared of the Adjutants, and it has come back to bite you in the ass. Oh, Aria. It’s funny, yet sad. You’re afraid of going to <em> sleep </em>? </p><p> </p><p>You don’t want to appear weak, not when you’ve got a station to rebuild and a throne to rule from. If any civilian or even Bray saw you like this, I’m pretty sure you would never forgive them. That’s why you lock your door at night and why you stand under the artificial light of your bathroom and look at the mirror, contemplating the face of a woman who has lived a thousand years and pondering every choice you made. </p><p> </p><p>Your arms extend towards the emptiness and you can’t help but hug the air around you and try to convince yourself, even for just a second, that she’s here, she’s back and it was all a minor problem, and you actually think of just being with her, of stepping down from everything and everyone and being Aria T’Loak—not Aria the leader, but just Aria; a broken, flawed being with a tendency to be cocky and over-confident and still yearn for companionship. </p><p> </p><p><em> But there’s no such thing </em>, you think as the sound of the skycars far away pulls you back into misery.</p><p> </p><p>The screen in front of you flickers, and your eyes drift towards the feed on it. It’s 3:42 AM, and even if Omega never sleeps, it sure is a hell lot quieter. There’s no partying in the Afterlife in a place where the blood of many has soaked the streets. </p>
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